Phase 1 Bike Plan_r

Safe Routes To School Coali on/Task Force
Many Denver schools struggle with traffic conges on and environmental pollu on, and, like many
communi es, an increasing number of children engage in less daily physical ac vity than is
recommended by healthcare professionals, contribu ng to Denver's growing childhood obesity
epidemic. Denver's Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program use a variety of strategies to facilitate safe
walking and biking to school. Addi onally, successful SRTS programs involve the whole community:
parents, children, schools, the city, residents, neighborhoods, non-profit organiza ons and public
health agencies.
SRTS programming u lizes a Coali on made up of partners from Denver Environmental Health, Denver
Public Schools, Denver Public Health, Denver Public Works, Bicycle Colorado, BikeDenver, Safe Routes to
Schools Na onal Partnership, WalkDenver, Livewell Colorado and others. Together, this Coali on is
ac vely working to develop systema c programming so that all Denver communi es can achieve state
and regional Safe Routes to Schools goals.
En ty: City of Denver - Department of Environmental Health
Loca on: Denver, CO
Website: www.denvergov.org
Neighborhoods Funding Pedestrian Improvements
The Ida Culver House in the Greenwood neighborhood of Sea le has 600–foot sec on of walkway along
First Avenue NW that was designed and constructed in 1993–94. It is used by the residents of the Ida
Culver House and was the only sec on of the block without an asphalt walkway or concrete sidewalk.
The residents were awarded a Small and Simple Matching Fund projects grant by Department of
Neighborhoods (DON) to fund the project. Key factors used to evaluate the walkway were parking,
drainage, and ease of construc on. Elimina on of parking can make a walkway less desirable to
residents. Closing open ditches to accommodate a walkway is expensive. Slopes that would require
stabiliza on make construc on difficult and more expensive. None of these factors was an issue at this
site. The walkway was es mated to cost $12,000 ($20 per linear foot for a five–foot wide walkway).
DON provided $5,000 and Ida Culver House $7,000. When the project was completed under budget,
the remaining $2,000 was returned to the residents. The walkway provides pedestrians with a firm,
stable walking surface that separates them from cars traveling along the adjacent roadway.
Special Maintenance Agreements
Over the years, the Sea le Engineering Department (SED) had received a number of requests for traffic
control at a par cular neighborhood intersec on. Inves ga on revealed high speeds, (85% of the traffic
was going 31 mph or faster), high volumes (1,215 cars per day), and high accident rates (five accidents in
the last three years). Although the community had requested traffic control for each of the four previous
years, the intersec on did not compete successfully for a traffic circle un l 1995*. Addi onal
complica ons included special design because of difficult intersec on geometry. As with all traffic
circles funded by SED, the Engineering Department and community volunteers landscape the circle in
the spring following construc on and a community volunteer maintains the traffic circle.
Budget SED Neighborhood Traffic Control Program $6,500
Total $6,500
* SED's Neighborhood Traffic Control Program receives funds to build seven to fi een traffic circles a
year. With over 600 annual requests for traffic circles, priority is given to those intersec ons with high
accidents, speeds, and volumes. If an intersec on does not compete well for SED funding, communi es
are encouraged to apply to the Department of Neighborhoods for Matching Funds.
En ty: City of Sea le - Public U li es
Loca on: Sea le, WA
Website: www.sea le.gov/u l/
Budget
DON Small and Simple Projects Fund $7,000
Ida Culver House $5000
Total $12,000
En ty: City of Sea le - Department of Neighborhoods
Loca on: Sea le, WA
Website: www.sea le.gov/neighborhoods/
CASE STUIDES
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